Is your policy’s health good?

While we plan for things like children education, own house, retirement etc, we may miss some key ones that may turn the whole planning upside down. Especially related to health as the expenses keep rising day by day. so, without a health policy, it is very cumbersome. So the first thing to do in a financial planning is to have a health policy. Every family needs a health policy with long-term view.

Many are recognizing this fact and are having these policies. Along with insurance, there is another attraction to it of exemption from income tax under section 80D. However, any policy may not do it while the amount and choice of insurance company are primary aspects of this, precautions while taking a policy are very important. If you don’t spend good time reading and understanding proposal at the time of taking it, you may have to face several uncomfortable questions from the insurance company during claim. So there comes the need to know the important things to know about a policy.

Is group insurance not enough?

Almost all companies now provide health insurance to their employees. While addition of parents is welcome, these policies have some limitations. Some policies are paid by the company and some by the employee themselves. Whoever pays it, the first thing to look at is if the policy amount enough for the whole family. Most policies have very less health insurance. Once you leave the company, you will lose the insurance as well. So, individual policy is always better even if you have a group policy to serve you better.

Don’t hide secrets

The saying of don’t hide truths with the doctors also holds true for insurance policy. It is always good to disclose everything about our health. Most have the myth that they may not get the policy if all health details are disclosed. It is the moral responsibility of the policy seeker to inform everything to the insurance company not doing which may label your as fraudulent and there is high chance of claim denial in such cases. Always be careful with insurance companies that say they give insurance without any health tests. Always have pre medical tests before taking a policy and disclose all your health secrets to avoid any trouble in the future.

Less premium…

It is difficult to predict how your health beholds. Some people judge the future based on present and take policies with less premium. Thing to remember here is policies available with lesser premium have a lot of limitations, which may result in spending from your pocket for treatment eventhough you have health insurance. We are not saying that high premium policies are good but always choose a policy after analyzing your needs and the premium that can be spent on it.

Avoid burden….

Premium alone is not the criteria for taking a policy. Always check if there is any copayment clause where we may have to bear some part of the expenses. These type of policies generally have lesser premium. It is always better to have a policy that pays the full even though a bit costly. Another factor is sub limitations. At present, hospital room rents are very high and other expenses as well and if you take policy with sub limitations, you may have to bear some from your pocket. Always ask for details regarding such aspects before taking a policy.

If no claim…

If no claim is made in one year, companies give no-claim policies which raises the policy amount by 5 to 10%. Examine policies with high no-claim bonus before taking one. This is a good opportunity to fight health inflation. Policy that increase insurance amount are always better than that cut the premium as bonus.

Waiting period….

Some policies pay for some diseases only after some period of time that may be as high as 4 years, which means you have to pay yourself for these diseases till this period is lapsed. For example, cataract surgery, hernia, etc are paid only after 1 or 2 years of taking the policy. So, try to take policies that have lesser waiting period.

Based on diseases…

Sometimes a small clause in the regulation will cause a lot of trouble. Some policies have limitations for paying certain diseases. Check the diseases that come under this. Taking a policy without full knowledge will cause trouble in the future.

Check the history…

While checking the policy completely before taking it, another important aspect is claim settlement history. Any policy how good it may be, if it doesn’t have a good claim settlement history, it is of no use. Always stay away from companies that reject policies for silly reasons. But, payment history should not be the sole criteria, it is always useful to take a policy that caters to your needs from a company with a good history.

Don’t feel that the responsibility is wholly of the insurance company after taking the policy. The reality is entirely different and there may be other expenses apart from medical bills during hospitalization like transport from and to the hospital, attendant expenses. So, it is always best to have a health fund.